Police: Teens ditch movie, go on crime spree

FAYETTE COUNTY, Ga. - A trip to the movie theater turned out to be a lot more drama than one Fayetteville mother was expecting. While she was watching a movie in one theater, she thought her child was doing the same with friends in a different theater. The teens had actually been on an adventure that would land them in jail.

It’s not unusual for kids and parent to go into different movie theaters. This time, those kids didn’t go into the theater, didn’t watch the movie. Instead, they wrote their own script, and it had a bad ending.

Police said while a mother was watching the movie in a separate theater, her child and two friends had sneaked out of the building and had gone on a two-parking lot crime spree that included stealing a car.

“She was thinking they were actually attending a movie,” said Fayetteville Police Lt. Mike Whitlow.

Police said the three teens started rifling through unlocked cars in the theater parking lot, stealing sunglasses and cell phones. They then crossed busy State Road 85 where police said they continued their crime spree.”

Their method wasn’t exactly sound to start with. It was a very busy time of night, and there were a lot of people in the parking lot, and, you know, any time of the day or night in that area it’s busy,” said Lt. Whitlow.

Police said the crimes escalated in the parking lot of a JCPenney store. Investigators said that’s where the three stole a 2007 Chevy Avalanche pickup truck, the reason was that the mother’s movie was about to let out and they had to get back to the theater.

“She was surprised when she came out and the officers approached them and was completely shocked because she believed they were in the movie,” said Lt. Whitlow.

Maliq Emeer Boston, of Atlanta, as well as Chareion Appling and Amir Almond Cowley, both of Riverdale, all 17 years old, face felony charges. Appling faces an additional charge of being caught with marijuana in the Fayette County Jail.

Police also remind everyone to keep car doors locked and valuables out of sight.